"It was stupid, yeah:" Young men could face charges after scaling crane with camera rolling
MILWAUKEE -- Two young men climbed a crane at the Northwestern Mutual construction site in downtown Milwaukee -- putting them hundreds of feet above the city, and the camera was rolling. Police say they could face charges -- so was it worth it?
Alberto Fernandez and Robert Castillo
The two 18-year-olds tell FOX6 News they did it as a dare, and have no regrets.
The giant crane at the Northwestern Mutual construction site on N. Prospect is hard to miss.
"Imagine sitting on the top of that crane at the very edge," Alberto Fernandez said. " was like 'I bet you wouldn't do it.' He said 'I bet you wouldn't do it,'" Fernandez said.
Fernandez and his friend dared each other to take a very big risk.
Crane at Northwestern Mutual construction site
"I said 'bet,' he said 'bet' and we just decided to come and scope it out," Fernandez said.
Last week, in the darkness of night, the two sneaked by security at the site and climbed the crane.
Alberto Fernandez
"We just ran up the wall and climbed on the crane and just got all the way up," Fernandez said.
Naturally, they filmed it.
"I was just enjoying the view like, the higher and higher we'd go up the crane," Fernandez said.
"I was just thinking about how much trouble we were going to get in," Robert Castillo said.
Crane at Northwestern Mutual construction site
Fernandez and Castillo admit that what they did wasn't very smart.
"I was being really negative during the whole thing," Castillo said.
18-year-olds film themselves atop crane at Northwestern Mutual construction site
18-year-olds film themselves atop crane at Northwestern Mutual construction site
Police say they are investigating this incident, and Fernandez and Castillo could face criminal trespassing charges.
"It is stupid, yeah. It was stupid teenagers," Fernandez said.
But Fernandez and Castillo say social media has made it worth it.
"I was thinking about the Facebook views and about putting it up on my Snapchat," Fernandez said.
Crane at Northwestern Mutual construction site
These young men are accepting all of the attention, even if it is negative.
"Whatever happens, happens," Fernandez said.
A Northwestern Mutual spokeswoman issued this statement to FOX6 News:
"We take the safety and security of our property very seriously. We are cooperating with Milwaukee police in their investigation of this incident, and we are working with the construction contractor to take additional steps to prevent situations like this in the future."
Crane at Northwestern Mutual construction site